Vishvas Hegde, MD

12/17/2022

Happy Holidays to all of my patients and their families!

I will be out of the office enjoying time with my family until Tuesday January 3rd but will have coverage via Akron Children’s (phone number on the answering machine).

Staff will be in the office intermittently on weekdays before I am back.

05/13/2022

Baby formula shortage; here are some solutions:

​Shortages of infant formulas have occurred in some stores, mostly due to pandemic-related supply chain issues and a recent large-scale recall of contaminated products. Read on for tips for families struggling to find infant formula.

06/18/2020

This article was written by another pediatrician and it has many of my key thoughts on the topic of opening schools in the fall.

Patient families what do you think? Feel free to comment below:

When kids are kept out of school, they're at risk of developing mental health issues, and health problems related to lack of exercise.

06/05/2020

​Parents may better face today's challenges with an understanding of how racial bias works in children, as well as strategies to help them deal with and react to racial differences.

05/24/2020

To all of my patients and their families I hope you have a safe and healthy Memorial Day weekend!

As we have come upon the unofficial beginning of summer, here are a few thoughts on some of our favorite activities:

The weather is warming up and public spaces are starting to reopen. How do you decide what's safe to do? We have guidance to help you compare and evaluate the risks.

05/15/2020

It's understandable to be nervous, but please don't skip your kids' checkups during COVID-19.

05/10/2020

Yes, we are open for business and seeing all well children again in the office!

To maintain a safe office environment we have spaced patients out, reduced waiting room times, enhanced cleaning protocols and are triaging patients by phone to see if an in-person or telemedicine visit is more appropriate. Unfortunately, Covid19 testing is still not widely available (except in the hospital setting).

We kindly ask that kids over age 3 and all adults wear cloth coverings or masks when coming to the office. Unfortunately I do not have enough masks to give out to others at this time; if anyone is still making masks we would love to have some! Also for now we request that only one parent or guardian comes in for each appointment (except if bringing multiple kids).

Kids definitely need their regular well child care and most importantly their vaccines. There is definitely a significant backlog and we are working hard to catch everyone up again.

For families that don't get vaccines at my office, the Portage County immunization clinics are open again and will be available by appointment only on Wednesday mornings. Please schedule with them by calling 330-298-4490.

Thank you to my patient families for being so understanding during these stressful times. Feel free to call my office if there are any questions or concerns (330-673-3333). Please leave a message if we do not answer as I am still working with limited staff.

Finally, listed below is a nice recent article that sums up much of my thoughts as a pediatrician. Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Children are not the focus of the pandemic. But pediatricians are worried for children and families, for now and for the future.

03/19/2020

To all of my patients and their families: please stay safe and healthy and if possible just stay home and follow local, state, and federal guidelines. Check on loved ones, neighbors and the elderly by calling them and seeing if they are doing ok.

Yes these are difficult times but hopefully we can together defeat Covid-19 if we all do our part.

My office will remain open for mostly weekday morning appointments but we are postponing all well child visits for the time being and spacing out visits to minimize contact with others.

Please do NOT go to the ER or urgent care unless you would have gone there anyways prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. In other words only go if you are having breathing difficulty, have a severe injury, or have significant dehydration. Regular coughs, colds, and low grade temperatures are best managed at home in isolation. Right now there is absolutely no Covid-19 testing for non hospitalized patients in Portage or Summit County.

If anyone has stockpiled masks or personal protective equipment, the healthcare workers like me would appreciate any extras. See today's Akron Beacon Journal with some of my thoughts at the end of the article:

https://www.beaconjournal.com/news/20200318/akron-area-doctors-take-steps-to-keep-their-offices-homes-safe-from-coronavirus

Thanks for your patience as my staff and I are doing our best to help during this difficult time.

Dr. Lesley Booher is a primary care physician. Her husband is a pharmacist. They have a 15-month-old son at home they want to protect, in case either of

03/02/2020

What should parents know about novel coronavirus? Read and find out....

Large cities on lockdown. Flights suspended. A rising death toll … a global health emergency. The headlines are anxiety-producing, even for those oceans

02/19/2020

High exposure to cleaning products may increase the risk of asthma in children:

(Reuters Health) - New parents who obsessively clean their homes to protect babi...

02/10/2020

Kids and cough remedy? Try some honey (as long as the child is over 1 year of age):

For parents desperate to calm a kid's hacking cough, so the whole family can get some sleep, turns out there's evidence that a common kitchen ingredient works better than OTC medicine.